Promotional Products

April Showers Bring May Flowers

2009-04-27T12:10:00.001-07:00

So be prepared with these current umbrella specials!

The Open

Auto open 58” arc golf umbrella with fiberglass shaft and ribs. Duraflex construction. Vented to withstand wind gusts up to 50mph without inverting. Rubber spray, pistol-grip handle. Includes matching nylon sleeve.
$18.90

The Mulligan

64” arc golf umbrella with large canopy. Unique shaft offers the strength of fiberglass with the elegance of a wood grain look. Wood hourglass handle and fiberglass ribs make this umbrella a great value! Duraflex construction with a wind proof feature. Available in over 20 colors.

$17.20

Sport Golf

60” arc economy golf umbrella. Steel shaft and double steel ribs. Straight wood handle. Wind proof feature for extra durability in high winds. A super value!

$10.50

Designing for Promotional Products - Fonts

2009-02-09T10:53:00.000-08:00

This is the first in a series of posts about designing specifically for promotional products. Printing on a 3D object can be much different than printing on paper. Special consideration needs to be made for the type of printing and the surface the imprint is going on.

Fonts for Promotional Products

1. The first thing to consider when choosing a font for any application is the way it reflects your business. Your promotional product may be the method your prospective customer first learns of your business, and you want to give the proper impression. Professional businesses usually use more serious fonts, while informal businesses may have a use for whimsical fonts. There are 4 fonts that are widely used in design that already have a stigma attached to them:
When Comic Sans was created, the developer intended it to be used for comic strips. This font is generally considered to be an unprofessional font and is best for applications that are related to comics or children.
When you're looking for a feel of ink written with a quill pen on parchment, Papyrus may be the font you're looking for. This font also is a whimsical font that may not be suitable for a professional business.
Times is best used for body copy on your printed materials. Many designers avoid using this font in a logo in fear of making it "boring" due to its wide use.
Designers either love Helvetica for its versatility or hate it for its overuse and lack of interesting features. It works well as a font for sub-lines, such as phone numbers or websites.

2. Size
Keep all font sizes above 7 point. Even on the best paper imprint, text smaller than 7 point is hard to read. Due to the different surfaces of promotional products, typically printing on them is not as precise. Often, small text "fills in", where the ink from one letter bleeds into the next. Sometimes, to keep with this rule on smaller items (such as pens), you'll have to simplify your information.

3. Serif vs. Sans Serif
(A serif font has decoration on the letters, where a sans serif font does not.)
Whether to use a serif or sans serif font usually depends on the feel you're looking for to coordinate with your brand. But, when the type size is reduced to fit on the item, serif fonts generally come out less crisp as sans serif fonts. The serifs can become weak or non-existent, or they can be over-accentuated, making the type hard to read.

4. Weight and character spacing
Bold fonts can be great for promotional products. Due to the imprecision of some imprint methods, making a font bold may increase its readability.
But, as the line thickness increases, the space between the letters decrease, making "fill in" more likely. Sometimes, it may be necessary to add more space between your characters to prevent them from running together.

If you're not sure if your design will work well on the promotional product you've chosen, I can take a look at your design and advise improvements as needed at no charge. Or, I'd be happy to set your information up with your provided vector logo based on the imprint area of the item you've chosen for a small fee. (Usually $25 for most designs.) Finally, if you need a logo or further design help, we offer full graphic design services at $50 per hour.

More New Year Specials

2009-01-13T13:28:00.000-08:00

This is a selection of the items currently at special promotional pricing. If you are interested in receiving full sales flyers, please contact us at michelle@baughenterprises.com.

Non-Woven Shopper Tote $1.85 each ($1.50 each blank)

Made of 90 Gram, Non-Woven, Coated Water-Resistant Polypropylyene.

Reinforced 20" handles and 10" gusset with matching covered bottom insert.

Available colors: Black, White, Royal Blue, Kelly Green, Forest Green, or Red

One color one location imprint.

Minimum order of 100 pieces. LOW MINIMUM

Set up charges: $45.00

Production time: 2-3 weeks

Expires 6/30/09

Non-Woven Insulated Shopper Tote $2.99 each ($2.50 each blank)

Keeps food hot or cold. Made of 90 Gram, Non-Woven, Coated Water-Resistant Polypropylyene.

Reinforced 23" handles and 9" gusset

Available colors: Black, White, Royal Blue, Kelly Green, Forest Green, or Red

One color one location imprint.

Minimum order of 100 pieces. LOW MINIMUM

Set up charges: $45.00

Production time: 2-3 weeks

Expires 6/30/09

Sharpie Retractable Fine Point $1.68 each

Black or blue ink.

Your imprint is printed in one color in one location.

Minimum order of 200 pens.

Set up charges: $30.

Production time: 5 business days.

Expires 6/30/09

NEW! BIC Hide-A-Pen Notebook $5.99 each ($7.69 each full color process imprint)

Includes an unimprinted BIC Clic Stic, BIC Media Clic, or Solis by BIC Y126 in unique die-cut pen holder. 5" x 7" with notepad with perforated pages.

Price includes one-color imprint.

Minimum order of 100 notebooks.

Set up charge: $50

Production time: 5 business days.

Expires 4/30/09.

(Prices and production times do not include shipping. Please mention specials when ordering.)

New Year's Sale

2008-12-31T11:00:00.000-08:00

This is a selection of the items currently at special promotional pricing. If you are interested in receiving full sales flyers, please contact us at michelle@baughenterprises.com.

SPF-23 Lip Balm $0.96 each

PABA-free lip balm contains both UVA and UVB protectors; contains aloe vera to soothe lips.

Available flavors: cherry, spearmint, vanilla

4 color process imprint.

Minimum order of 250 pieces.

Production time: 3 business days

Anodized Carabiner $0.86 each

8 colors to choose from: orange, silver, blue, purple, green, red, black, and gold.

Laser engraved in one location.

Minimum order of 250 carabiners.

Set up charge: $50.

Production time: 5 business days.

Swizzler Pen $0.48 each

Black ink with Parker-style medium point. 4 colors to choose from: red, blue, green, and orange.

Your imprint is printed in one color in one location.

Minimum order of 300 pens.

No set up charge.

Production time: 3 business days.

evolve Infinity Tumbler or Traveler Mug $2.81 each

16 oz cup made with environmentally friendly biodegrable materials. Top rack dishwasher and microwave safe. Available in 6 colors: light blue, stone, dark green, lime, blue, and black, with gray lid. Made in USA.

Price includes one-color imprint in one location.

Minimum order of 96 cups. (Styles cannot be mixed to reach minimum.)

Set up charge: $50

Production time: 7 business days.

Promoclip $0.27 each

Stainless steel paper clip that holds up to 15 sheets of paper. Also useful as a bookmark.

Imprinted in 1 color on 1 side. Background colors available for an additional charge.

Minimum order of 3000 clips.

Set up charge: $50.

Production time: 5 business days.

(Prices and production times do not include shipping. Prices effective 01/01/09-04/30-09. Please mention specials when ordering.)

Are Your Postcards Boring?

2008-12-19T12:45:00.000-08:00

What do you clients and customers do with your postcards? Do they read them? Do they throw them away? There are many ways to get the most out of your postcards that you may not have thought of.

Magnets and postcards naturally go together.

Turn your postcard into a magnet. Instead of putting the postcard in the trash, your customer is more likely to put it on their refrigerator. This is great for a menu or a list of services that your clientele may need to reference later. Add extra value by including a perforated coupon. The magnet is usually located at the top of the narrow end of the card.

Or, stick a magnet to your postcard with removable adhesive. These are often called magnet tipped postcards. Tacky strips keep your magnet on until the customer pulls it away from the adhesive strips or dots.

Beyond Magnets

Magnets can also be laminated right onto the card, so there's no danger of it getting pulled off in the mail. But why stop at magnets? Send your customers a postcard with coins or a packet of seeds. We had a client who had a promotion for whoever opens the chest gets the prize, and they sent the keys out to their customers on postcards.

Not Just Flat

In fact, break into the third dimension. Small items can be laminated or shrink-wrapped onto the postcard as well. Send out invitations to a golf outing and include a tee. Advertise the chance to win a vacation with a luggage tag. Or just reward your customers with a keychain, pen, pencil, toy, etc.

Just about anything can be laminated onto a postcard, with the approval of the United States Postal Service, of course. The maximum size of a mailable postcard is just over 6" x 11", and 4 inches needs to be blank for the recipients' addresses and sorting bar codes. Most of these postcards have a minimum quantity of 1000.

Prices vary greatly depending on the size of the postcard, type of imprint, item to be attached, quantities, etc. Of course, we'd be happy to provide you with a custom quote for FREE.

"But what does it DO?"

2008-12-12T08:21:00.000-08:00

We recently got some samples in which we fought over to determine who gets to keep it at their desk.

I got the 7 Color Spiral Light-up Pen.

Every time the button is pushed, the lights flash in a different fashion and color combination. The fiber optic swirl on the inside gives it extra depth and makes it more interesting than just any old light up pen. And the lights seem to go on forever, unlike other light up pens which seem to cycle through once or twice then shut off. The batteries are replaceable.

The pen is silver and a one color imprint is included in the price. The pens start at $2.03 each at end quantity pricing (EQP).

Loyce got the Pinwheel Note Holder.

The spiral shape common in desk note holders is on the back, and the pinwheel is on the front. It's all metal, yet still light enough that the pinwheel moves when you blow on it.

It comes in black, blue, silver, and red pinwheels, with a one color imprint. Your logo is printed on the base, not on the pinwheel itself. These start at $2.92 each for end column quantities.

I also got the Glitter Lamp.

Give it a shake, and the glitter swirls around the inside, picking up the changing colors from the LED lights on the inside. When waiting for artwork to upload, I often give this a shake, and it magically makes the artwork upload faster (or, it amuses me just long enough for the upload to finish).

The imprint is on the silver base, and as usual, one color is included in the price. It stands about 6" tall, and the batteries are replaceable. EQP is $3.82 each, but one that plays a custom sound for 10 seconds starts at only $4.67.

But, Loyce claimed the Boogie Bot.

I can tell when she's frustrated, because I can hear her winding up the rockin' little guy. And I can't say I blame her, he makes me smile. He kind of reminds me of Matt, the guy that does his dance all over the world.

He dances with your one color logo spinning around on his robot torso. He starts at $2.12 each, and comes in red or blue.

I'm sure we're not the only office that debates over who gets the cool toys. So for your next promotion, consider giving away something a little more fun with the "Ooh, I want that on my desk!" factor.

New Blog

2008-11-03T07:56:00.000-08:00

We have decided to switch blog providers. We hope this will make our blog more reliable and user friendly to our customers.

If you would like to see the old entries, they can be found here.